Data communication systems exchange user data for user communication devices to provide various data communication services. The user communication devices may be phones, computers, headsets, machines, or some other user device. The data communication services might be media conferencing, gaming, social networking, machine communications, and the like. To extend the range of these data communication services, the data communication systems deploy wireless data networks that communicate over the air with wireless user communication devices. Current Fourth Generation (4G) wireless data networks are being augmented with Fifth Generation 5G wireless data networks.
Wireless Priority Service (WPS) is a federally-administered program that enables emergency personnel to communicate over wireless networks—especially during periods of intense network congestion. These wireless networks host Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) servers, WPS application servers, and WPS subscriber databases to serve WPS data communications.
To initiate a WPS voice call, the WPS user inputs *272 and then the called number into their phone. The wireless user device sends a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) INVITE message that has *272+ called number in the “TO” field. An IMS functional element recognizes the *272 dialing prefix and handles the call with a WPS quality-of-service. A WPS application server uses the WPS subscriber database to authorize the WPS user before the WPS quality-of-service is delivered.
Unfortunately, WPS communications require the *272 dialing prefix even though some smartphones do not support the * symbol through their exposed telephony Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). WPS authorization is not efficient and effective in the current 4G/5G wireless communication environment.